PART 1 - WHAT WE KNOW

On July 17th, 2021, at approximately 10:30 AM, Ruth Kowalski left her home to visit the Detroit S-Mart located at 9400 W. Fort Worth Street, to purchase the ingredients she needed to bake a pound cake, which she intended to provide at an upcoming meeting of her bridge club for the gustatory delight of the assembled bridge enthusiasts.

We know that Ruth arrived at S-Mart at approximately 10:42 AM. We know this because her entry was recorded on in-store security cameras that were subsequently turned over to the Detroit Police Department. I did my best to obtain this security footage, but was rebuffed on every front. I have therefore been forced to reconstruct the timeline based on the scant details I was able to cobble together from news reports, interviews, and additional sources which I have sworn not to disclose at this time.

Additionally, I see no reason to use the actual names of those who lost their lives that day in S-Mart. I will say that, in my personal research, I have thoroughly identified and vetted nearly all of the individuals who were present that day. To the best of my ability, I am unable to uncover any indication that any of them were anything other than what they seemed to be; simple unassuming shoppers or retail employees going about their day. That being the case, I see no value in calling out their names into the mercurial and quick-to-judgement internet.

Finally, I must warn the reader that the following account will include graphic descriptions of the massacre that occurred that day. Sensitive readers are warned to skip this section (and perhaps this entire website.)

These caveats duly established, let us now reconstruct the bloody events that occurred inside the S-Mart that day.

After arriving, Ruth wandered the aisles for a few minutes before positioning herself in a corner between houswares and sporting goods sections, where she stood, head bowed, for roughly fifteen minutes. During this time she displayed no awareness of her surroundings and was largely unnoticed by nearby shoppers, save for the occasional odd glance.

At approximately 11:09 AM, Ruth was approached by a female S-Mart employee who asked if she needed help. According to reports, Ruth replied that this employee could indeed help her “by dying” and proceeded to break the woman’s neck with her bare hands.

What followed was chaos. Survivors reported that several S-Mart employees and heroic shoppers attempted to restrain Ruth, and a fight ensued. When the dust had settled, two more were dead. The first, an S-Mart employee, had his heart removed from his chest by Ruth, who reportedly was able to reach directly through his ribcage to accomplish this. The second, the store’s assistant manager, was reportedly thrown onto an active table saw by Ruth, resulting in his death.

The massacre was ended when an S-Mart shopper, a young woman enrolled at Michigan State University who was visiting from nearby East Lansing, beheaded Ruth with a machete.